Selecting a configuration for an application

ABSTRACT

There is provided a computer-implemented method for selecting from a plurality of full configurations of a storage system an operational configuration for executing an application. An exemplary method comprises obtaining application performance data for the application on each of a plurality of test configurations. The exemplary method also comprises obtaining benchmark performance data with respect to execution of a benchmark on the plurality of full configurations, one or more degraded configurations of the full configurations and the plurality of test configurations. The exemplary method additionally comprises estimating a metric for executing the application on each of the plurality of full configurations based on the application performance data and the benchmark performance data. The operational configuration may be selected from among the plurality full configurations based on the metric.

BACKGROUND

A business datacenter may include large numbers of computing resourcesand storage resources. Examples of computing resources include servers,workstations, desktop computers and the like. Storage resources mayinclude multiple disk arrays, network-attached storage (NAS) devices,direct storage and the like.

Large scalable storage systems frequently include massive amounts oflocal and remote storage and are intended to support complexapplications that may require predetermined levels of performance and/ordependability. Such desired service requirements may be expressed interms of a service level objective. A service level objective typicallystates a desired combination of performance and dependabilitycharacteristics that a user desires for a given application. Whenagreeing to provide particular levels of service, a datacenter may sellservices according to a service level agreement that mirrors theperformance and dependability characteristics agreed to by the user. Ifthe agreed-upon service level is not met over a period of time, afinancial penalty may be imposed on the datacenter.

The storage resources of a datacenter may be configured in a largenumber of ways, any one of which may meet a particular agreed-uponservice level. Each of these configurations has an associated cost andprobability of failure with respect to providing the agreed-upon servicelevel over time. Selecting an optimal configuration that meets theagreed-upon service level while optimizing cost for the datacenter is achallenging problem.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Certain exemplary embodiments are described in the following detaileddescription and in reference to the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an enterprise storage system, in accordancewith exemplary embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram that is useful in explaining the selection ofan optimal full configuration of storage resources, in accordance withan exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a process flow diagram of a method for selecting a fullconfiguration of storage resources for an application in accordance withan exemplary embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a computer system that facilitates theselection of a full configuration of storage resources for anapplication according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention relate to providing anestimate of a probability that a given configuration of storageresources will meet given requirements for performance anddependability. In one exemplary embodiment, estimates of occurrence offailure scenarios of various storage components in a configuration areemployed in combination with estimates of the system's performance inthe failure scenarios to obtain insight into a performance anddependability profile of individual configurations. Moreover, thisinsight allows a datacenter to decide whether a particular configurationis likely to fulfill an agreed-upon service level for running a specificapplication, and doing so at an acceptable cost.

As used herein, the term “performability” relates to combined aspects ofperformance and dependability characteristics of a storage system.Performability may be expressed in one or more metrics that provide ameasure of how well the system performs in the presence of failures ofsystem components over some time interval. Moreover, performability maycomprise a combination of performance, reliability, availability, andcost metrics appropriate for a particular application. Examples ofperformability metrics include the capability to retrieve an object in aspecific amount of time a certain percentage of the time or thecapability to handle a certain number of user accesses at once.Typically, it is hard to measure availability of a configuration bydirect measurement, since it depends on failures, which are relativelyrare events. It is more practical to measure other components ofperformability, such as the performance, by direct measurement, but toestimate the availability portion using separate mathematical models.These models may, however, contain parameters that are separatelydetermined by direct measurement. For example, a large configuration mayhave thousands of disks, and the failure rate of each kind of disk usedmay have been separately determined by measurements (performed either bythe user or by the disk manufacturer). Thus, performance characteristicsmay be measured. Dependability characteristics may be either measured orestimated through models. Performability can be estimated by combiningthe two together.

As used herein, a full configuration is an arrangement of storageresources that is selected to meet all requirements necessary to providea desired service level when running an application. Performabilitycharacteristics of a given full configuration are related toconfiguration options selected by a customer who desires to run anapplication in a datacenter. As will be explained, a large number offull configurations potentially exist for a given application,attributable in part to a relatively large number of user-selectableperformability characteristics in a typical datacenter. Moreover, alarge number of full configurations of storage resources may be capableof providing the service level corresponding to a user's selection ofconfiguration options.

In deciding which full configuration of storage resources to use for aparticular application, it is not feasible to test a large number offull configurations directly. Without the practical ability to test alarge number of full configurations, system designers and serviceproviders may rely on models of various candidate configurations,including configurations in which failures of certain components areassumed, to provide estimates of performability for a large number offull configurations. An optimal full configuration may be chosen for theapplication based on these estimates.

To provide performability estimates according to the present invention,an application may be run on a relatively small number of testconfigurations relative to a number of potential full configurations ofa storage system. Past measurements (for example, benchmark data) ofother applications on both the test configurations and a number of fullconfigurations may be used to estimate how a particular application willperform on the full configurations. The estimate of performability maybe used to select a full configuration for executing the application.Moreover, an exemplary embodiment enhances the selection of a fullconfiguration that is likely to provide an agreed-upon service level atan optimum cost.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a datacenter, in accordance with exemplaryembodiments of the present invention. The datacenter is referred to bythe reference number 100. The datacenter 100 includes computingresources 102, which may include one or more servers, desktop computersor the like. The computing resources 102 are connected to one or morestorage resources 104. The storage resources may include disk drivesarranged as virtual drives, storage pools or the like. The storageresources 104 may be organized as a large scalable storage system, witha large number of individual components. Moreover, the storage resources104 may be disposed locally or remotely (or some combination of the two)relative to the computing resources 102.

In a typical datacenter, customers provide a service level objective fortheir applications. A service level objective corresponds to a desiredlevel of performability when the datacenter is running the application.The datacenter may enter into an agreement known as a service levelagreement, in which the datacenter agrees to provide a specific servicelevel for the application. The specific level of service may be measuredby one or more performability metrics. One or more system administratorsmay allocate the computing resources 102 and the storage resources 104to provide the necessary service level to accommodate the customersapplications. As explained herein, an exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention relates to selecting a full configuration of thestorage resources 104 to optimize the cost of running a givenapplication while meeting the specific service level agreement for theapplication.

One example of a large-scale application that may be executed in thedatacenter 100 is a Key-Binary Large Object (Blob) Archive developed byHewlett-Packard Company. The Key-Blob Archive employs tags or keys thatare used to access large unitary blocks of data known as blobs. As oneexample, a photo sharing website may use a Key-Blob Archive to allowusers to access one or more photos, which are transmitted as un-editableblobs when accessed with a corresponding tag.

Configuration options for such a Key-Blob Archive system may correspondto performability metrics, which in turn relate to specific levels ofservice that may be desired by a customer hiring the datacenter 100 tohost an application that makes use of the Key-Blob Archive system. Inone exemplary embodiment, configuration options include a choice of anumber of separate copies or fragments into which a data object issplit, a number of parities fragments stored at a local datacenter, anumber of additional parity fragments stored at a remote datacenter,and/or a number of parities to be written before a data write isconsidered complete, to name just a few examples.

Configuration options may be designed to allow an owner of theapplication to choose a desired level of performability for theapplication. The selection of configuration options may result intradeoffs between conflicting performability metrics. For example,selecting configuration options that provide rapid response time (lowlatency) may result in a lower degree of data dependability.

As explained herein, it is likely that a large number of fullconfigurations of the storage resources 104 may be capable of providingthe service level desired by the owner of an application. While the costof a specific configuration can be computed directly, predicting thelong-term ability of a configuration to meet an agreed-upon servicelevel may be difficult.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram that is useful in explaining the selection ofan optimal full configuration of the storage resources 104, inaccordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Thediagram is generally referred to by the reference number 200. Thediagram 200 includes a first full configuration 202, a second fullconfiguration 204 and a kth full configuration 206. As set forth herein,the full configurations 202, 204, 206 comprise arrangements of thestorage resources 104 that meet all performability characteristicsneeded to provide a given level of service when running an application.The full configurations 202, 204, 206 are typically implemented in adatacenter using a relatively large amount of effort and expense.

When determining whether a particular one of the full configurations202, 204, 206 may provide a desired service level for an applicationover time, it is desirable to take into consideration potential failuresof individual components that comprise the storage resources 104 and areused to implement the particular full configuration. Moreover, a seriesof full configurations may be contemplated, each of which takes intoaccount a failure (for example, unavailability) of one or morecomponents of the storage resources 104. Each of the configurations thathave a failure mode may be referred to herein as a “degradedconfiguration.” A probability may be assigned with respect to theoccurrence of each degraded configuration. For example, a Markov modelmay be used to provide probabilistic estimates of the likelihood ofoccurrence for each degraded configuration. As explained herein,probability values for degraded configurations may be used in part tomake a determination of whether a particular initial full configurationis likely to provide a specific service level over time.

As explained herein it is typically not practical to test an applicationon a large number of full configurations to determine an optimum fullconfiguration to meet performability metrics for an application. This isnormally true because of the relative complexity and expense ofimplementing the full configurations and subsequently evaluating theapplication on each one. In addition, it is further unlikely that theapplication could be tested on each degraded configuration (or even thedegraded configurations most likely to occur) in order to get anaccurate estimate of system performability for the specific application.Instead, exemplary embodiments of the present invention provide forrunning an application on a plurality of test configurations.

The diagram 200 shows a first test configuration 208 and an nth testconfiguration 210. There is typical a much smaller number of testconfigurations relative to the number of full configurations. Inaddition, the test configurations 208, 210 are typically implementedusing significantly less effort and expense relative to the fullconfigurations 202, 204, 206. In an exemplary embodiment, the testconfigurations may comprise full configurations, degraded configurationsor other configurations. It is desirable for test configurations tocover as wide a variety of possibilities as practical. For example, inthe Key-Blob Archive example, some test configurations may be purelylocal (i.e., one data center only). In addition, some testconfigurations may span data centers, some may be focused on providingfast response, and some may be focused on providing high dependability.

The test configurations 208, 210 used to provide estimates ofperformability of an application according to an exemplary embodimentare desirably chosen to allow good estimates of performability on thedifferent available full configurations and one or more degradedconfigurations over time. Once the performability and costcharacteristics of each full configuration and degraded configurationare estimated, a datacenter user can select the most desirable fullconfiguration on which to run the application while meetingperformability criteria desired by a customer.

In general, the set of full configurations of the storage resources 104that may be used to run applications in compliance with desiredperformability levels is large, but nonetheless limited in size. Inselecting a full configuration for a given application it may bedesirable to consider the configurations that are feasible, and mostlikely to be used. Many possible full configurations are not feasible.For example, configurations that are obviously too expensive, orobviously too poorly performing (based on models or past experience), ortoo undependable (again, based on models or experience) are not goodcandidates. On the other hand, configurations that have beensuccessfully used in the past for similar applications, or are scaledversions of such configurations, may be of interest. In general, boththeory (models) and past experience may be used to limit the set of fullconfigurations that need to be considered, since the complete set ofpossible configurations is exponentially large.

In one exemplary system, there are about n=1,000 potential fullconfigurations that meet a desired service level for a givenapplication. Let the kth full configuration be denoted as I_(k,0). Thepotential full configurations may include configurations with differentnumbers of datacenters, different parity layouts, and consistencycharacteristics, to name just a few examples. Moreover, a different fullconfiguration is obtained by changing any one of the configurationvariables.

In an exemplary embodiment, it may be assumed that likely degradedconfigurations of each full configuration and their probabilities ofoccurrence can be computed. For purposes of explanation, assume that thedegraded configurations of full configuration I_(k,0), are denotedI_(k,1), I_(k,2), . . . , and the probability of occurrencecorresponding to I_(k,I) is P_(k,I). For example, given the componentsof the system and their individual failure rates, the probabilities ofoccurrence for each degraded mode can be computed using known methodssuch as a Markov model. Alternatively, failure probabilities can also becomputed using a computer simulation designed for that purpose or fromactual experience. These alternative methods, however, may tend to be oflimited use with large configurations and rare failure modes.

Furthermore, an assumption may be made that a finite subset of potentialfull configurations are actually available for application testing. Thissubset may typically be much smaller than the set of potential fullconfigurations. For purposes of example, the number of potential fullconfigurations may be much larger (about 100 times greater) than thenumber of test configurations. In the example discussed herein, thiswould lead to a subset of the potential full configurations that arepractically testable of m=10 test configurations. The kth full testconfiguration may be denoted T_(k). The test configurations aredesirably maintained so that they are always available for evaluatingnew applications to be ran in the datacenter.

In addition, assume the availability of a set of p representativebenchmark test programs, denoted B₁, B₂, . . . , B_(p). The benchmarksmay include synthetic benchmarks (that is, workloads generated byprograms designed to generate I/Os for testing) and real applications.The benchmarks desirably have adequate coverage of the space ofapplications that may be run in the datacenter 100. As used herein,adequate coverage means that the benchmarks collectively demonstratebehaviors representative of all applications that may be run in thedatacenter 100.

Synthetic benchmarks can be used to ensure such coverage. For example,in a Key-Blob Archive system, the benchmarks may exercise the full rangeof all the workload parameters such as the object size, get/put ratio,frequency of over-writes, temporal locality (how often a recentlyread/written object is accessed again), and how frequently a read accessto non-existent keys is made, to name just a few examples.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the benchmarks arerun on all potential full configurations of the storage resources 104.In addition, each benchmark may be run on a group of degradedconfigurations, which may be simulated by temporarily disablingindividual components of the storage resources 104. The group ofdegraded configurations may comprise all known degraded configurations.

The benchmarks may also be run on the test configurations 208, 210. Ineach case, performance statistics (for example, the latency andthroughput of the application) are collected, as well as the system loadcharacteristics. The set of measurements using benchmark B_(i) onconfiguration C is represented by the vector M(C, B_(i)). C could be oneof the initial potential full configurations, a degraded configuration,or a test configuration.

Using these measurements, a model f_(i,j) may be estimated, as follows:

M(I _(i,j) ,B)=f _(i,j)(M(T ₁ ,B), M(T ₂ ,B), . . . , M(T _(m) ,B))

to fit the measured values for B=B₁, B=B₂, . . . , B=B_(p).

The function f_(i,j) can be estimated using known non-linear modelingmethods. Another approach is to use a linear model:

M(I _(i,j) ,B)=f_(i,j)(M(T ₁ ,B), M(T ₂ ,B), . . . , M(T _(m) ,B))=A_(i,j,1) M(T ₁ ,B)+A _(i,j,2) ,M(T ₂ ,B)+ . . . +A _(i,j,m) M(T _(m),B).

The A matrices can be estimated using linear regression.

Functions may be created to provide estimates of performance metrics forall potential full configurations and their degraded configurations.Once the functions f_(i,j) are known, the performance of an applicationX on a configuration I_(i,j) may be computed (including degradedconfigurations) as {tilde over (M)} (T_(i,j), X)=f_(i,j)(M(T₁, X), M(T₂,X), . . . , M(T_(m), X)), by measuring the performance andcharacteristics of application X on the test configurations T₁, T₂, . .. , T_(m) only. Previously obtained data from the benchmarking processmay be used to relate the specific application data from the testconfigurations to all of the potential configurations and their degradedconfigurations.

In one exemplary embodiment, the combined performability characteristicsof each potential full configuration and the corresponding degradedconfigurations can be computed from the probabilities P_(i,j) and theestimated performance vector {tilde over (M)} (T_(i,j),X). For example,suppose the criterion one wants to use for an acceptable configurationis that the throughput is at least 1,000 object gets per second for99.99% of the time. This can be checked for each configuration by addingthe probabilities of the modes (normal configuration and degradedconfigurations) where the throughput is at least 1,000 object gets persecond, as determined from the performance estimation {tilde over (M)}and verifying that the combined probability exceeds 0.9999.

Thus, the performability characteristics of the available fullconfigurations for the application X may be estimated based on datapreviously obtained through benchmark testing. In this manner, adatacenter operator may choose an optimal full configuration on which torun an application. The optimal full configuration may be chosen so thatperformability metrics of a service level agreement with the customer ismet while minimizing cost to the datacenter.

FIG. 3 is a process flow diagram of a method for selecting a fullconfiguration of storage resources for an application in accordance withan exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The method isgenerally referred to by the reference number 300.

In particular, the method 300 is a computer-implemented method forselecting from a plurality of full configurations of a storage system anoperational configuration for executing an application. The methodbegins at block 302, where performance data for the application on eachof a plurality of test configurations is obtained. At block 304,benchmark performance data is obtained. In an exemplary embodiment, thebenchmark performance data relates to execution of a benchmark on theplurality of full configurations, one or more degraded configurations ofthe full configurations and the plurality of test configurations.

A metric for executing the application on each of the plurality of fullconfigurations is estimated based on the application performance dataand the benchmark performance data, as shown at block 306. At block 308,the operational configuration from among the plurality of fullconfigurations is selected based on the metric. As explained herein, themetric may relate to the performability of the application on a fullconfiguration. Exemplary embodiments of the invention facilitateselection of the operational configuration so that an agreed-uponservice level may be achieved while optimizing the cost of providing theservice level.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a computer system that facilitates theselection of a full configuration of storage resources for anapplication according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention. The computer system is generally referred to by the referencenumber 400. The computer system 400 may be configured to performestimation of metrics for executing an application on each of aplurality of full configurations of a storage system.

In the computer system 400, a processor 402 is configured to access anon-transitory, tangible, machine-readable medium 404 via acommunication bus 406. The tangible, machine-readable medium 404 maycorrespond to any typical non-transitory storage device that storescomputer-executed instructions, such as programming code or the like. Aswill be readily apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art,computer-executable instructions stored on the tangible,machine-readable medium 404 may be read and executed by the processor402 via the communication bus 406.

A region 408 of the tangible, machine-readable medium 404 storescomputer-readable instructions that, when executed by the processor 402,obtain application performance data for an application on each of aplurality of test configurations. A region 410 of the tangible,machine-readable medium 404 stores computer-readable instructions that,when executed by the processor, obtain benchmark performance data withrespect to execution of a benchmark on a plurality of fullconfigurations, one or more degraded configurations of the fullconfigurations and the plurality of test configurations. A region 412 ofthe tangible, machine-readable medium 404 stores computer-readableinstructions that, when executed by the processor, estimate a metric forexecuting the application on each of the plurality of fullconfigurations based on the application performance data and thebenchmark performance data. As explained herein, the metrics may be usedto select the operational configuration for the application so that anagreed-upon service level may be achieved while optimizing the cost ofproviding the service level.

An exemplary embodiment of the present invention may provide certainadvantages. For example, by evaluating the performance of an applicationon a small number of test configurations, an optimal full configurationmay be identified by using a reasonable amount of time and effort. Thebenchmarking exercise need only be run once per potential fullconfiguration. The computational effort required for fitting the modelsis relatively small, once the benchmarking measurements have been done.If additional potential full configurations are added later, they may beincluded in this method.

A special case occurs if all of the potential full configurations areconsidered to be test configurations. In such a case, an exemplaryembodiment may predict the performance of the degraded modes of eachconfiguration for an arbitrary given application, from benchmark testson the same set of configurations and their degraded configurations.

1. A computer-implemented method for selecting from a plurality of fullconfigurations of a storage system an operational configuration forexecuting an application, the method comprising: obtaining applicationperformance data for the application on each of a plurality of testconfigurations; obtaining benchmark performance data with respect toexecution of a benchmark on the plurality of full configurations, one ormore degraded configurations of the full configurations and theplurality of test configurations; estimating a metric for executing theapplication on each of the plurality of full configurations based on theapplication performance data and the benchmark performance data; andselecting the operational configuration from among the plurality of fullconfigurations based on the metric.
 2. The computer-implemented methodrecited in claim 1, wherein the metric comprises at least oneperformance characteristic.
 3. The computer-implemented method recitedin claim 1, wherein the metric comprises at least one dependabilitycharacteristic.
 4. The computer-implemented method recited in claim 1,wherein the metric comprises at least one performability characteristic.5. The computer-implemented method recited in claim 1, wherein themetric relates to a desired service level.
 6. The computer-implementedmethod recited in claim 1, wherein configuration options that define theplurality of full configurations comprise a number of separate copies orfragments into which a data object is split, a number of paritiesfragments stored at a local datacenter, a number of additional parityfragments stored at a remote data center, and/or a number of parities tobe written before a data write is considered complete.
 7. Thecomputer-implemented method recited in claim 1, comprising: assigning aprobability of occurrence for each of the degraded configurations; andtaking into account the probability of occurrence for each of thedegraded configurations when estimating the metric for executing theapplication on each of the plurality of full configurations.
 8. Thecomputer-implemented method recited in claim 1, wherein the applicationemploys a Key-Binary Large Object (Blob) Archive.
 9. A computer systemfor estimating metrics for executing an application on each of aplurality of full configurations of a storage system, the computersystem comprising: a processor that is adapted to execute storedinstructions; and a memory device that stores instructions, the memorydevice comprising stored instructions that, when executed by theprocessor, cause the processor to: obtain application performance datafor the application on each of a plurality of test configurations;obtain benchmark performance data with respect to execution of abenchmark on the plurality of full configurations, one or more degradedconfigurations of the full configurations and the plurality of testconfigurations; and estimate a metric for executing the application oneach of the plurality of full configurations based on the applicationperformance data and the benchmark performance data.
 10. The computersystem recited in claim 9, wherein the metric comprises at least oneperformance characteristic.
 11. The computer system recited in claim 9,wherein the metric comprises at least one dependability characteristic.12. The computer system recited in claim 9, wherein the metric comprisesat least one performability characteristic.
 13. The computer systemrecited in claim 9, wherein the metric relates to a desired servicelevel.
 14. The computer system recited in claim 9, wherein configurationoptions that define the plurality of full configurations comprise anumber of separate copies or fragments into which a data object issplit, a number of parities fragments stored at a local datacenter, anumber of additional parity fragments stored at a remote data center,and/or a number of parities to be written before a data write isconsidered complete.
 15. The computer system recited in claim 9, whereinthe memory device comprises stored instructions that, when executed bythe processor, cause the processor to: assign a probability ofoccurrence for each of the degraded configurations; and take intoaccount the probability of occurrence for each of the degradedconfigurations when estimating the metric for executing the applicationon each of the plurality of full configurations.
 16. The computer systemrecited in claim 9, wherein the application employs a Key-Binary LargeObject (Blob) Archive.
 17. A non-transitory, computer-readable medium,comprising code configured to direct a processor to: obtain applicationperformance data for an application on each of a plurality of testconfigurations; obtain benchmark performance data with respect toexecution of a benchmark on a plurality of full configurations, one ormore degraded configurations of the full configurations and theplurality of test configurations; and estimate a metric for executingthe application on each of the plurality of full configurations based onthe application performance data and the benchmark performance data. 18.The non-transitory, computer-readable medium recited in claim 17,wherein the metric comprises at least one performability characteristic.19. The non-transitory, computer-readable medium recited in claim 17,wherein the metric relates to a desired service level.
 20. Thenon-transitory, computer-readable medium recited in claim 17, comprisingcode to direct a processor to: assign a probability of occurrence foreach of the degraded configurations; and take into account theprobability of occurrence for each of the degraded configurations whenestimating the metric for executing the application on each of theplurality of full configurations.